Recently, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) issued guidelines for compulsory selection of income tax returns (ITRs) for complete scrutiny and in this regard specified two deadlines, one for internal use and the other for sending tax notices.
The two deadlines are:
June 15, 2026: (internal deadline) Tax officers have to forward certain selected ITRs which satisfy specific guidelines to the Directorate of Income Tax (Systems) so that further action can be taken. June 30, 2026: This is the deadline for issuance of tax notice under Section 143(2) for ITRs filed in FY 2025-26. This circular by CBDT is not in public domain and this correspondent has seen a copy of it via sources.
What do these two deadlines mean for taxpayers? Chartered Accountant Suresh Surana says that based on the CBDT guidelines, the two dates serve different purposes. June 30, 2026 is the statutory deadline for issuance/service of notice under Section 143(2) for ITR filed in FY 2025-26, whereas June 15, 2026 is an internal administrative deadline applicable to certain categories of compulsory scrutiny cases.
Legal time limit for scrutiny notice (June 30, 2026): Under Section 143(2), the Income Tax Department must issue/service a scrutiny notice within the prescribed timeline.
The CBDT circular specifically reiterates that for ITRs filed in FY 2025-26, the deadline for serving a Section 14
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